European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 6, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17 Money matters today s tip factory workers in 12 industrialized nations earned More in 1990 than their counterparts in the the United states whose average wage was $14.77 per hour according to a labor department study. The $21.86 hourly wage in Norway was the highest followed closely by Germany at $21.53 and Sweden at $20.93. Other countries that had higher wages than the United states Switzerland $20.83 Finland $20.76 Belgium $18.94 the Netherlands $18.22 Denmark $17.85 Austria $17.01 Italy $16.41 Canada $16.02 and France $15.23. Countries that had wages lower than the United states a great Britain $12.43 Australia $12.97 Japan $12.64 Ireland $11.76 Spain $11.61 Israel $8.55 new zealand $8.33 Greece $6.75 Taiwan $3.95 South Korea $3.82 Singapore $3.78 Hong Kong $3.20 and Mexico $1.80. Conversion rates London up fridays rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $353.25 an ounce Sliver at $4.00. Jan. 2 Jan. 3 British Pound.1.8685 1.8495 German mark.1.5183 1.5455 French franc.5.1875 5.2560 dutch guilder.1.7220 1.7271 belgian franc.31.25 31.71 italian lira.1,151.50 1.162.00 Swiss franc.1.3640 1.3715 greek drachma.175.30 176.95 turkish lira.5,087.50 5.122.80 saudi arabian rtyal.3.7499 3.7499 Spanish peseta.96.53 97.37 portuguese escudo.133.25 134.00 Canadian dollar.1.1533 1.1491 austrian schilling.10.6810 10.79 norwegian krone.5.9775 6.0350 danish krone.5.9040 5.9650 these Are commercial rates and can be related Only to the use of foreign currency by . Forces for official business. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.50 through monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. Hard times not Over Many say new Quot York a the new year has done Little to lift americans gloom about the Economy according to a time can poll released saturday. Three in five said economic conditions would get worse or stay the same this year. Only 36 percent of the 500 americans surveyed thursday said they thought economic conditions would improve during the next 12 months up from 26 percent in november time reports in its Issue to be publish Jan. 13. The poll by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman found 84 percent saying the recession is still going on where they live. About two thirds said they do not believe the United states is in a Long term economic decline. But a similar majority 62 percent said americans today cannot enjoy the same Standard of living As recent generations. Also on saturday . News and world report released a pre Christmas poll of 1,033 americans in which 55 percent said unemployment will Rise during this year. C . To a \ \ Charles m. Jordan design staff vice president tells reporters Friday in Detroit that cims Ultra Lite will he Quot a car you can love. Pm designs Auto for the future that will get 100 Miles per gallon Detroit up general motors corp. Has unveiled a four passenger concept car designed to get 100 Miles per gallon at 50 Mph on the Highway. However pm cautioned Consumers not to expect such fuel efficiency in a family buggy. Pm previewed the sleek 1,400-Pound, Blister shaped Ultra Lite for reporters at the 1992 North american International Auto show opening this week. It packs a 1.5-liter, three Cylinder two stroke engine that generates 111 horsepower and can accelerate from Zero to 60 Mph in 7.2 seconds. Its top Speed is 135 Mph. A we wanted to mix technology with emotion a said Charles m. Jordan design staff vice president. A it has an appealing almost hug Gable look. Its a car you can  the body Structure is made of Carbon investors guide fiber composites. The engine is enclosed in a modular rear Power pack that is removable making the engine easier to service or adapt to such alternative fuels As natural Gas or electricity. It a the wind Tunnel told us to do a rear drive rear engine car a said Donald l. Runkle advanced engineering vice president. A and then it said to package the powertrain to enable a 5-Inch taper from front to  the Cost of the Carbon fiber a the 420-Pound body Structure of the nearly 14-foot-Long car is priced at $13,000 a makes it prohibitive at present for production cars. Runkle said the Carbon fiber Shell however has half the weight and twice the strength of aluminium and is even stronger than steel. The company Hopes it will eventually be produced at a fifth or sixth of the present Cost. Pm officials said members of Congress should not misunderstand and mandate further fuel efficiency standards. The materials stiffness enabled designers to make a True Sedan with two Gull Wing doors that weigh half that of others. A what the designer brings to the party is the feeling of room inside. Most important it was designed for four people a said Jordan. A a it a not so hard to do for two  while such a car is a Long Way from the Assembly line designers said some features such As lighting display panel tires and seats would be applied to production models. The four Speed automatic transaxle was borrowed from Gmys Saturn subsidiary. Mutual fund stands Between Uncle Sam Ira by Bill Doyle q. We have $41,000 of our individual retirement account Money in a a government securities Mutual fund. We understand our investment in this fund is considered a loan to the . Government and that we will get Back our original investment. Is this True a. Not necessarily. Your understanding lacks one vital ingredient. There is an intermediary a the Mutual find a Between you and the Federal government. When you made your investment you bought shares in the Mutual fund. The fund uses your Money and other shareholders Money to buy such debt securities As Bonds notes and Bills issued by the . Treasury and Federal agencies. You Are an indirect owner of those securities. You Are Correct about those securities being Loans to our Federal government and its agencies which will pay interest on the securities and pay them off at face value when they mature. Those interest and maturity payments go to the Mutual fund a not directly to you and other shareholders. After collecting interest payments the fund deducts its operating expenses and passes the rest of that Money along to shareholders As interest. You can to be sure of getting your original investment Back because the value of your fund shares might fall or Rise. The value is determined at the end of each business Day when the fund a a prices its shares. The resulting asset value per share can fluctuate because Market prices of debt securities go in the opposite direction of interest rates a Down when interest rates Rise and up when interest rates fall. So if you redeem your fund shares when interest rates Are higher than they were at the time you bought the shares you could come out with a loss. Q. Besides having most of our Ira Money in a government securities Mutual fund my wife and 1 have Small iras at a Bank. We have less than three years before passing age 701/when we must Start drawing on the iras. Would it be Best to leave the iras with the Mutual fund and make withdrawals As rep tired or to move All the Money Inlo our Bank iras a. As has often been noted in this column no one can Tell you for sure the a a bests Way to invest. Any time you run into someone who claims that ability run a done to walk a to the nearest exit. As retirement time draws near the natural move is to shift your retirement nest egg into conservative investments. Assuming your Bank Ira would be More conservative than that Mutual fund. However a Mutual fund holding Gover ment securities is not Way out on a speculative limb. While having some risk its relatively conservative. More important Over the years such funds have provided far better investment results than cd and other Bank deposits. My advice is to keep things As they Are. While there is no guarantee you will continue to do better than you would by moving your Ira Money to a Bank